Jose Mourinho insisted last night he has no plans to make any new signings during the January transfer window, despite reports Chelsea have had a bid for Spanish winger Joaquin turned down by Real Betis.
Mourinho admitted there is a host of players around the world he admires, but he stressed Chelsea do not need to add to their superstar squad.
In fact, Mourinho is having enough trouble trying to keep all his current players happy.
He responded to reports that Joe Cole has been frozen out by urging authorities to increase the number of substitutes so he can include all his star names in the match-day squad.
"I do not want to sign any players in the January transfer window. I just want to keep my players and avoid injuries," said Mourinho.
"The hard thing for me in England is to have only five players on the bench. I go to Arsenal and have to leave Joe Cole and Alexei Smertin in the stands. Why? They should be there to give me more options."
Balancing those professional demands of being a Premiership manager with his own personality has been one of the toughest challenges Mourinho has had to face since joining Chelsea.
Speaking at the launch of his autobiography entitled ‘Jose Mourinho: Made in Portugal', the former Porto manager explained how any difficulties are outweighed by a burning desire to succeed.
"People change with time and experiences. I change every day. I feel I can improve as a person and a manager in your country and with your football because it is the best in the world," he said.
"I am in love with the passion the players have for the game. Maybe I was lucky to have players like Frank Lampard and John Terry. I think managers can learn from players. I am open to that."
He admitted that he wants to face Spanish league leaders Barcelona in the next round of the Champions League because it is against the biggest names that reputations are made and points proven - just as he managed with Porto against Manchester United last season.
"For emotional reasons and because everyone says they are the best in Europe at the moment, I would like to play Barcelona," said Mourinho, a former assistant coach at the Nou Camp.
"In football, top people are never scared. We always want to play against the big teams, the big managers, players always want to play big players. We always want these things for our careers."
